After warming up Erak’s lunch, and almost setting the microwave on fire, I headed to the Central Square with the skull of the ram. Specifically I was taking it to the administration offices to present to Gothi Cadoc, who was in charge of the Union Registration Offices.

He looked even larger than usual, sitting at his desk. Everything around him seemed so small in comparison. Like when you went to the children classrooms. He beamed when he saw me enter, and stood tall. “Welcome, Hildr, welcome! Come come, sit, please!” He shouted, pushing papers aside and taking a stack of folders off one of his chairs. “Ah, there you are! So, how went the hunt?”

I carefully placed the skull on his desk, facing him.

He studied it, scratching his beard. “And uh...where is the other one? I do recall us setting up two.”

“It got hit by lightning.” I said pleasantly.

“By...lightning?” He asked, head slowly turning to the side. “Really?”

“Very really!” I chuckled.

“Well I’m going to have to head out that way and see for myself. Hildr did you by chance head home before coming here?”

“Yes I did! I dropped off my stuff and gave Erak his lunch.” I smiled. What pleasant conversation.

“You didn’t think to take a shower or change into clean clothes?”

“Oh...right...” I mumbled, as I slowly pulled out a leaf from my frizzled hair. “That’s...a thing.”

“Indeed it is.” He smiled, shuffling through papers, while clicking at a pen top. “A thing for later, at this point. For now it is time for-” He held up forms and a pen, handing them towards me. “-Paperwork!”

“Yaaay....” I mumbled halfheartedly.

“Come now, it won’t be too bad.” He said, placing the form in front of me.

Along the top it was titled, Registration Form for Cultural Association/Society. In the top right was GF-109. The form was three pages of administrative information and a few survey questions about how having the option for the different cultural associations made me feel and how i felt it affected my overall sense of community and work ethic.

“Wow.” I said, halfway through the second page. “This sure is bureaucracy.”

Cadoc chuckled. He was reading from a book he’d pulled from his suit jacket “Could be worse, dear. Have you seen the size of the forms for studying abroad? Those take a minute to fill out, let me tell you.”

“Are you speaking from personal experience?” I asked, while mulling over the ‘What do you feel is the importance of your selected association/society’ question.

“Oh yes.” He murmured, looking up, trying to grasp the memory. “I had signed up to travel to India to assist a fledgling Workers Party form. That must have been...” He sucked air between his teeth, tapping his nose with his book. I scribbled out my street name for the third time. “Oh, ten years ago I believe.”

“What happened?”

“Oh well things kind of fell apart, as these things do sometimes. Not everyone is always ready for revolution, I have found. Beautiful country though. I’m a rather big fan of the food, so much flavor.” he said, staring off whisfully.

I stared at him for a few moments, holding out my form to him. I waited a moment longer before saying, “I finished.”

“Hmm? Oh yes, my apologies. Let’s see here...” He leaned back in his chair, skimming through the forms. “Your handwriting is almost as terrible as your mother's.”

“You take that back!” I shout, jumping out of my seat. Mama didn’t have handwriting. She had random scribbles she called letters.

“Everything seems to be in order.” He said, ignoring me. This, having effectively taken all my momentum away, brought me back to earth. So I sat back down. “I’ll send this up to Ashfild tomorrow for processing, we should hear back in about two weeks. Until then,” He turned to me, grinning ear to ear, hand out. “Welcome to the Society of Scandinavian Cultural Preservation, Miss Chyornyj.” I shook his hand, as he pulled a small purple bag out of a draw. “And it is with great honor that I welcome you back home.” He said, holding out a signet ring with the norse compass on it.

I slowly placed it on my middle finger, and made a fist. Grinning ear to ear. I felt my community, my kindred and my gods.